MICKELSON-WOODS DUEL PRODUCES BIG TV RATINGS

There remains one can’t-miss recipe to cook up big ratings on the PGA Tour: Get Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods on the Sunday leaderboard, preferably playing together, and have one of them win.

With Mickelson charging to a victory with an 8-under-par 64 and beating Woods by 11 shots on Sunday in the same pairing, the final-round coverage of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am drew its highest ratings since Woods was a PGA Tour rookie in 1997.

The average overnight Nielsen rating on CBS was 5.1, up 96 percent from last year’s 2.6, when D.A. Points was the champion. The ’97 tournament, with Woods shooting 63-64 on the weekend to nearly catch Mark O’Meara, drew a 5.8 rating.

Not surprisingly, the ratings in San Diego were even higher than those nationally for the 40th career win by Mickelson, an area native and Rancho Santa Fe resident. The Sunday number on KFMB Channel 8 was 7.2, compared to a 1.9 for the Chicago Bulls-Boston Celtics game on KGTV Channel 10.

In contrast, this year’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, won by Brandt Snedeker in a playoff over Kyle Stanley, drew a 2.9 local rating against the NBA, which garnered a 3.1. The Farmers national rating on CBS was a 2.0.

Skipping Match Play

The eligible 64 players for the upcoming WGC-Accenture Match Play were announced Monday, and though Mickelson would have been seeded 11th because that’s his place in the world rankings (he rose from 17th with the Pebble win), he is choosing to skip the tournament next week in Marana, Ariz.

The Mickelson children are out of school and the family is going on vacation. Amy Mickelson said Sunday the time off will include skiing. A reporter told Amy that she needed to keep her husband out of the trees, to which she replied with a grin, “No, he’s great in the trees!”

Besides Mickelson, world No. 23 Paul Casey remains out with a shoulder injury suffered in a snowboard accident. Their absence leaves openings for two South Africans, No. 65 Ernie Els and No. 66 George Coetzee.

Mickelson will play his fifth tournament in a row this week in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. He won the Northern Trust in 2008 and ’09, and in the last two years has tied for 45th and 35th.

Kia holding pre-qualifier

The Kia Classic will hold a pre-qualifying tournament on March 1 at the La Costa Resort & Spa, giving amateur female golfers the opportunity to potentially play during the LPGA Tour event.

Amateurs with a handicap of 2 or lower are eligible to compete in the pre-qualifier, from which the top two scorers will advance to the Kia Classic Monday qualifier on March 19. The top two players from the Monday event will reach the official tournament, set for March 22-25 at La Costa.

The entry fee is $50 and the deadline is Feb. 24. Interested players should contact Kia Classic marketing coordinator Chad Seufert at
chad.seufert@lpga.com.

High school clinic

PGA teaching professional Scott Mahlberg and USD men’s head golf coach Cory Scoggin will host a golf clinic for high school coaches on Feb. 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Stadium Golf Center. The subjects they will cover include swing basics for team players, understanding the rules, and the player attributes that interest college golf coaches.

Farmers tickets

In partnership with Northern Trust, the Farmers Open has announced that tickets from this year’s San Diego tournament will be valid for grounds-only entry this week at Riviera.

‘Hot List’ tour coming

The Golf Digest “Hot List Tour 2012” national tour will make a stop at the Carlsbad Golf Center on March 10-11. The free event is an opportunity for golfers to test equipment from the leading manufacturers. The center also will have a pro shop and sidewalk sale. The show will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day. For more information, call (760) 720-4563 or visit
carlsbadgolfcenter.com.